GOP blocks yet another Obama judge nominee

HARRY REID. Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)10%wants to change the Senate rules before Thanksgiving, which would eliminate the rights of the Senate minority:

With Senate Republicansblockinga third Obama nomination to the powerful D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, a senior Senate Democratic leadership aide tells me Reid is now all but certain to move to change the Senate rules by simple majority — doing away with the filibuster on executive and judicial nominations, with the exception of the Supreme Court – as early as this week.

At a presser today, Reid told reporters he was taking another look at rules reform, but didn’t give a timeline. The senior leadership aide goes further, saying it’s hard to envision circumstances under which Reid doesn’t act.

When Harry Reid threatened the so-called “nuclear option” in the past, the Heritage Foundation explained how this erodes the rights of the minority:

By eliminating the rights of the minority party to extended debate, the nuclear option fundamentally alters the consensus-based nature of the Senate to resemble more closely the majoritarian House of Representatives. As Heritage’s Hans von Spakovsky wrote, “It seems [Reid] wants the Senate to forsake its ‘advise and consent’ role and simply become a rubber stamp for presidential nominees, no matter how radical, extreme, or corrupt they may be.” Although Reid has said the change will only be for executive branch nominees, the practice could easily be applied to judicial nominations and legislation as well.